Odin-Genie

My pack:

Genie (Golden Retriever)

Genie again

The Watchers: Odin (Norwegian Elkhound) and Genie

My dogs launch themselves into my arms every evening when I return from work :laugh:

They definitely miss us when I or OH travel. They keep looking at the door every few minutes in the evenings. But they otherwise have no separation anxiety. It's more like they'll play for a while, then look at the door, then go and sleep for a while, then look at the door.

But I get a huge welcome when I get back!!!!!

I think they miss us but they cope, they might fret for a while and then they just get on with things and try to adapt and learn the new house rules.

Unless they are like Hachiko and wait for 10 years till they die.

It's easy at my house, it's always Quinn! Always.

It's easy at my house too. It's always Genie, my goldie!!! If she gets access to food, I doubt my elkhound gets any!

Eye contact is rewarding for dogs in the right circumstance- usually when the dog wants attention. Also the person has to be somebody of value to them, most dogs don't take well to be stared at by a stranger who means nothing (possibly even has negative value) to them

That's interesting. I haven't seen any dogs making eye contacts with other dogs, even those who know each other really well, except when they are playing or doing something with each other. They never really just look at other dogs. This behaviour seems to be reserved for humans.

However, while we do train dogs to look at us when they need to focus, I at least never tried to train them to look at me when we are relaxing. So where do they get that soulful look from?

Supervision and assessment are fine, but those most qualified to supervise or assess would probably be the most likely also to think it's not a good idea to mix strange dogs at kennels. Some people's idea of supervision is to watch, with no clue what they are watching for, or to assess with no understanding of what they are assessing. The terms are almost meaningless when used in a general way.

It is those that are less educated about dogs and maybe a little anthropomorphic that see the most value in having their dog 'socialise' with strange dogs. You just have to look at many of the people that spend time in dogs parks.

If you were opening a kennel and providing that 'service' you would have to weigh up how much business that would draw in compared to the amount of business lost due to mishaps. Maybe you wouldn't weigh up the costs, you would just keep the dogs as safely as possible, separated from strange dogs.

That's an interesting point. Some kennel playgrounds that I have visited looked more like dog parks with about 20 dogs thrown in with one supervisor. If anything goes wrong, I fail to see how one person could manage the situation.

But it would be interesting to see what the mishap rate is at kennels.

Sounds pretty normal to me. Although letting my dogs 'demand' my attention is not something I do.

Yes...I have a spoilt goldie who whines if I don't look at her. It starts with a really slow pitiful sound. And yes, she does get eye contact when she does that. My other dog would keep looking at me with soleful eyes till I look at him. I give in to that too.

My Kenny used to push my arm up with his head if I was on the computer, or put his paws on my lap when I was watching TV, damn spoilt dog, but would I have had it any other way, nope.

:laugh: :laugh:

So I'm not the only one with spoilt demanding dogs

But I love it too.

Sounds pretty normal to me. Although letting my dogs 'demand' my attention is not something I do.

Yes...I have a spoilt goldie who whines if I don't look at her. It starts with a really slow pitiful sound. And yes, she does get eye contact when she does that. My other dog would keep looking at me with soulful eyes till I look at him. I give in to that too.

Note: Edited to correct spelling!!!

My dogs constantly demand eye contact.

I've trained them to look at me when they need to focus. However when I'm petting them, massaging them, I also have to look at them. If I have one dog on each side, and massage both of them I have to also make eye contact with both the dogs at regular intervals. Otherwise the one I'm not looking at behaves as if it's left out even if the dog is lying down with its head on my lap.

Is that normal dog behaviour? I thought dogs don't like a lot of eye contact.

What type of canine eater is your dog?

(please tick the most appropriate box)

The Nibbler = Nibbles at the food left out for it all day and eats little at meal times☐

The Beggar = Fusses noisily to get food and gets fed

The Good Dog = Affection from owner and other members of the house is shown primarily through the feeding of treats

The Gourmet Dog = Allowed to eat table scraps in place of or in addition to its main meal(s)

I can't select any of the options. My dogs don't have access to food all day, they don't fuss to get food, affection is not demonstrated through treats, and they don't get table scraps.

They get food as a routine and have to sit politely for it.

Purina has just released a bed that is chew proof, they will replace it if your dog chews it

I just bought this for my dogs. Feels extremely sturdy and comfortable.

Children do not have the right to learn the consequences of their behaviour with my dogs!

Keep your dogs away from children then?

I would presume having the dogs behind a fence on your property would be considered keeping them away from the children!

Totally agree minimax. The OP's dog was in its own yard. The children were poking stuff through the fence. That's not normal 'exploring' and should not be allowed. The OP should not have to put up with that.

They aren't robots, you can teach small children things but it doesn't mean they always do as they are told!

No, neither are dogs. But dog owners are still held accountable for their dog's behaviour and expected to supervise them so that they don't annoy others, even if all they want to do is play.

It is the parents' responsibility to ensure that their children don't bother others. If the children can't be trusted to listen, the parents should supervise them or take steps to ensure that their kids are not in a position to annoy others.

I wouldn't even kennel my own two together, but would rather have them side by side instead.

My dogs would go crazy if they could see/hear/smell each other but couldn't play. In fact I don't mind boarding them since I know they'll be together.

I know of kennels that charge heaps for a motel type room, I have no doubt dogs will be happier with lots of exercise and fun in preference to having a tv and lounge.

I know how ridiculous!!! As if dogs would care whether they have a 4 poster bed and a TV (well mine wouldn't anyway). I am sure most dogs would prefer exercise, human interaction, company and mental stimulation.

my dogs care very much about their bedding and would love a couch or 4 poster bed to sleep on while in the kennel. :D

I send mine to the Terrigal pet resort (in the suites) since they can have their own double bed and all day access to a private grassy yard. They definitely care about having a comfortable sleeping place. I don't allow them to be boarded with other dogs either.

Hm, the most sensible comment there seems to be one of the last ones, to the effect that it was was a Pitbull/Rottweiler/some other "usual suspect" it would've been mentioned..

Exactly & it makes me angry that they only mention the breed if it is "one of those vicious breeds". It is irresponsible, because it lulls people into a false sense of security if they have one of those "nice friendly breeds", while fueling the hysteria that only some breeds attack & should be banned.

I hope the little boy recovers & isn't scarred mentally or physically & the mother learns you can't leave a two year old playing outside unsupervised.

Wouldn't it have been better then to mention the breed of the dog? It would at least educate people that not all dog bites are caused by pitbulls.

When I got my first puppy, I put a harness and lead and held the lead while he sat on a bunch of towels on my lap on the front passenger seat. Throughout the drive (about 2 hrs) he put his head on my shoulders and slept. I still remember that as a very special moment.

Salient facts not highlighted in the newspaper article - but probably were in court

The child had often visited the dogs in the past without incident, but the owner was always present

The child climbed over two fences to get to the dogs, who were locked in a secure pen.

The child was seen walking down the street carrying a dead chicken at 7pm

The dogs had not attacked anyone before, although they had been out "causing trouble"

When you put a 4 year old child holding a dead chicken in with 5 dogs in their own pen, the outcome is not difficult to work out.

Most breeds would be fighting for the chicken. Maybe the intent was to kill the child, but I would think the chicken was the motivating force. If I went into my dogs with a dead chicken, there would be some action!! And they would have no intention of harming me, only of getting the chook.

Why was a 4 year old child wandering the streets carrying a dead chicken at 7pm?

Where were the parents?

I feel so dreadfully sorry for this poor little child, and I feel so sad that the parents failed in their duty of care to her.

The owner has been prosecuted, the dogs are dead. The father and brother sought to sue the council. I don't think, in this case, that the council acted badly and I think that justice has been served

Now we have laws classing hunting dogs as "dangerous" I don't know.

Why are parents never charged with negligence in such instances? In this particular instance it is completely the parents' responsibility. Any group of dogs would react to a child walking into an enclosure with a dead chicken. Do we now need to keep all dogs under lock and key?

oops didnt read above posts. I agree, I have empathy for everyone in this situation.. I hope you wont be asking for this dog to be PTS though in all honestly your own son is your responsibility.. (I am not being rude or insensitive just honest).

I see that remark as being rude & insensitive & quite stupid under the circumstances.

Even if the child was a silly little brat that ran up to the dog, which he obviously is not, no mother with a child that is badly injured & traumatised needs to be told this or be told how to feel about the dog at this moment.

Hopefully the child will come out of this ok mentally & physically & kind words to this effect is all she needs right now.

The rest can be sorted later, including the fate of the dog.

Agree. It is totally the dog owners responsibility. An even tempered dog doesn't just snap. If I take my dog to someone's house or stall in this case, how my dog behaves would be totally my responsibility. If there are kids around, it would be my responsibility to ensure that my dogs don't harm them.

Please excuse my ignorance but is a elk hound a cross between a german shepherd and a samoyed.

That's what I am asked all the time when I take my dogs to the dog park. Usually it's a German shepherd x husky. When I tell people that elkhounds are ancient purebreeds, people are quite surprised.

I have a golden retriver who used to be very prone to hot spots. I used to clip the hair around the area with scissors, then put some ice on a paper kitchen towel and press it gently on the area to cool it down without making the area wet. Sometimes I would put a bit of cortozone cream.

The other thing I now do is wash her with pyohex shampoo which soothes skin irritations. I also watch her closely and if she tends to scratch a particular area too much then I part her hair and check the skin closely, and use the ice routine if it looks red and itchy.

No there no toys and he wouldn't say why he was there

I'll be worried about that. If he's not saying why he wanted to get into your yard then he was obviously trying to do something that he knew was wrong.

Stormie I must say that I have tremendous respect for you and everyone else in the veterinary profession. I don't know how you cope with this. And I wish the OP will realize that when he/she can stop grieving. But grief often makes people want to hurt/blame others.

I have only had to sit through one dog being euthanized. He was a much loved dog. And the vets were incredibly calm and supportive.

I don't agree with Percynality's point of views of either treating dogs as human beings or condemning vets. However I have great sympathy for what the OP is feeling. And unless anyone is 100% sure that this is trolling, it is cruel to make jokes in a thread which is so hurtful to someone else.

Pain isnt always rational.

My dogs are 'dogs'. Not 'just' dogs or 'still' dogs. Those words to me denote an inferior status in the priority list. My dogs are incredibly important to me, not because they are child substitutes but because they are dogs. I don't think I could have children around me 24/7.

Dogs have different training and companionship requirements. They can't be treated like human children. But saying that, I also believe that a lot of things that people do to spoil their dogs would also result in spoilt children. For example giving in to a stubborn child, or pampering them all the time.